"It sometimes seems, looking at what we get up to, that ‘University’
of any kind is something of a misnomer. But going on learning is a
necessary part of going on living, and that’s what we are doing. And it
doesn’t matter whether what we are learning about is classics or
carpentry or wine vintages – or bridge, or science, or playing a
musical instrument, or just finding our way around our new IT
equipment. The difference between the U3A and the universities some of
us attended long ago is that this is the third age of our lives. We are
not young, and that has some very noticeable disadvantages. But it has
benefits too. We’re not driven by the by the need to acquire
qualifications or to build up a career. We don’t have to impress
anybody, so nobody can tell us what to do. We learn about what
interests us and we learn it in our own way - frequently from one
another.

For three successful years now, Lostwithiel Area U3A has promoted
and supported that kind of learning, and may it go on doing so for a
long time to come!

Many new organisations get off to an impressive start and then begin
to diminish. That has not happened to us. People come and go,
inevitably, but our overall numbers continue to rise, as does the
number of our activity groups. While the organisation has grown,
however, it has retained the openness and friendliness that make it
easy for new members to find a place. I would be sad if we ever got big
enough to lose that.

This is my final report as I reach the end of my three years as
Chairman. I am glad to go, not because I haven’t enjoyed it – I have! -
but because growth and movement are all part of what we are about, so a
static committee would not represent what we are. And what we are is
something to be proud of."